Bioshock Infinite with Charles
by BlueBlue930
Summary: Charles O'Reilly took this job to help his family. He had to assist a man named Booker to find a girl in a tower. Little to either of them know that this so called 'perfect city' is anything but and now both of them are being hunted down and have to fight their way out of there. Follows the storyline of Bioshock Infinite. i only own my OC. Slight Elizabeth x OC
1. First Meeting

Bioshock Infinite with Charles Chapter 1

Charles had taken the job for one reason, his family. After his father had died from an illness, life had been tough for the small family living in New York. He and both of his older brothers had had to take jobs to feed his family while his mother worked to supply money as well. He'd mainly been in charge of watching his little sister, who'd said that her friends told her that everything would get better if they prayed to god. He'd tried but nothing ever happened, things would get worse, they would even swear that if you waited a few more days it would work. Now he refused to believe that just praying would solve everything, you had to work for it.

It was by sure luck that a man came across him and saw his troubles. He'd offered him a job working for an agency that only a select few were allowed into. Skeptical but with no other options for money, he'd decided to take him upon that offer. They supplied him with a place to stay and, by his request, supplied one for his family, even though they still choose to work. After years of training with guns, knives, and other weapons, Charles was finally offered his first job. It was simple enough, go up to a city in the sky and assist a man with finding a girl in a tower and bring her to New York…. very simple. He'd agreed and was sent ahead to Columbia and would meet up with the man named Booker Dewitt there.

Charles was amazed by how far a city in the sky had come, it looked like a fancy area back in New York. He'd been let out inside a church and he sighed

"Of course it had to be a church…"

He'd lost his gun the agency had given to him when it had launched him up, he walked over to a bench that was surrounded by candles and sat down, on edge as he waited.

His knee bounced as he waited, he blew a piece of his blond hair out of his face. He was dressed simply, with black pants, a brown vest over his long sleeved light grey shirt and dark brown boots. He had no idea how long he'd been waiting but he didn't blame him, a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean WAS probably a hard find.

He heard it arrive and looked over as a man stepped out. He had brown hair and a hard face, like he'd seen things no one wanted to see. He wore a black shirt and what looked like a navy blue vest over it, and brown pants with grey stripes. He looked around and saw Charles as he stood up. He walks over and Charles steps over the candles and into the shallow water.

"Guess you're the person I have to work with" the man says

Charles shrugs "Guess so"

The man sticks out his hand "Name's Booker Dewitt"

Charles takes his hand and shakes it "Charles O'Reilly"


	2. Sweet Waters

"Let's find a way into the city" Booker says

Charles nods and follows as they start to walk. He looks at the sign overhead

"'The seed of the prophet' huh.." Booker says

"Something always rubbed me the wrong way about that word"

"Seed?"

"Yea"

They both walk down the steps and he looks at the statue of a man

"Nice beard"

They come across a man wearing a long white robe, his hands clasped together

"Excuse me! Where are we?" Booker asks

"Heaven friend. Or as close we'll see till judgment day"

The two just walk down the steps as the man looks down again to pray

"Best keep such questions to ourselves, 'less we want to get made" Booker says to him

Charles chuckles slightly "I learned that back home, keep your thoughts on a religion to yourself unless you plan to run"

"I'll take your word for that"

They walk more and suddenly are in a large area of water, sections separated by millions of little candles. A group of people in the same white robes are in a group at the end, listening to a man belt out his preaching's. They both listen and Charles sighs slightly, chewing the inside of his cheek, Booker notices but says nothing as the man finishes.

"Ah, is it someone new? Someone from the Sodom below?" the man asks as they enter the circle

"We just need passage into the city" Charles says

"Brothers, the only way to Columbia is through rebirth in the sweet waters of baptism"

"Of course it is.." Charles sighs

"Will you be cleansed brothers?"

They look at each other, knowing they have to other choice and Booker takes the man's hand. Charles stands close and his eyes widen as Booker is forced under. He comes up gasping for air and is forced back under, his eyes squeezing shut. Charles looks at the priest as he moves to him.

He grips his hand and forces him under. He holds his breath until he's brought back up. He acts as if he needs breath and the priest grips his shoulder.

"Welcome to Columbia brother!" he says as the other clap

"Thanks.." he pulls Booker through the entryway

"Damn it you weigh a lot. You'll owe me for this Booker" he says as he pulls him through

Charles starts to pump on his chest to get the water out of his lungs. After a few seconds, Booker coughs up the water and Charles smiles

"Welcome back"

Booker stands up and coughs out the rest of the water before turning to Charles

"Thanks, that idiot priest needs to learn the difference between baptizing a man and drowning one"

"Yea, or maybe he just didn't like the look of you" he jokes

"Har har, let's just find a way into the city O'Reilly"

"Booker, just call me Charles"

"Alright, let's find a way in then"

They walk through the area, past more people absorbed in prier. Finally they get to a pair of double doors and open them. Suddenly a ray of golden light streams in and they see the floating city.

Charles' mouth hangs open as he looks over the city

"A city in the clouds… I don't believe it"

"Neither do i…" Booker says

The landing connects to the other and they both walk off it.

They had reached Columbia.


	3. Exploring Columbia

Neither could believe what they were seeing. The buildings floated through the air and the people behaved as if it was all normal. They look up and see another huge statue like they saw in the church.

"I suppose this person has an ego" Charles says

"That's Father Comstock" a man says to him "He's our prophet"

"A prophet needs a huge statue in the middle of a courtyard?" Booker asks Charles as the man walks off

"Guess so" he shrugs

As they look around, Charles finds a few silver eagles and pockets them, first come first serve when it comes to money. As they walk further into the city, he looks at a mechanical horse as a parade floats by. It discussed the seed of the prophet once again.

"There's your word again" Booker jokes

"Ah shut up" Charles says, rolling his eyes as the street comes up so the people can cross.

He walks up to a sign on the ground advertising the raffle and fair

"Think we can take a detour?"

"The sooner we find the girl, the better"

"Do you wonder why we're finding this girl? What do your employers want with her?"

"I don't know, you learn not to ask questions about these things"

Charles looks at him but says nothing, deciding not to press it. He did need the money from this job, he didn't need to ask questions or get to involved.

His attention is instead pulled to a large sign with a grim reaper and a lamb. The sign says "THE FALSE SHEPERD SEEKS ONLY TO LEAD OUR LAMB ASTRAY"

"False shepherd?"

"Might be best not to ask"

"Yea.."

Charles picks up an apple from a nearby sack and bites into it as they keep walking, passing a singing quartet

"So we just follow the path to the tower?" he asks Booker

"That's the plan"

"And you don't think anyone will stop us or get suspicious of us?"

"If they do, we'll find a way through. We're more then able to fight through"

"I suppose so" he says, tossing the apple core into the trash can

They reach an archway that shows the tower, shaped like an angel

"There it is" Charles says

"That's where we're supposed to find her" Booker says, looking at a card

"Telegram Mr. Dewitt!" they hear and look down, to see a small boy who hands it to him before running off

Booker reads the telegram "'Dewitt and O'Reilly. Stop. Do not alert Comstock to either of your presence. Stop. Whatever you do, do not pick #77. Stop. Lutece'"

"Number 77?"

"It's probably nothing, what I want to know is who knows I'm here and working with you"

"It's confusing me too"

Booker tosses the telegram in the trash and they walk on, still confused

They ended up having to pass through the fair after all. They first crossed by a vigor salesman, showing what they can do

"Shooting fire from your hands? Ridicules" Charles chuckles

They pass by a shooting game and he looks at it, reminding him of the agency.

"So, what is it your best at?" Booker asks him

"I excelled in shooting most of all"

"Makes sense, you don't have to much muscle yet" he laughs

"Oh ha ha, I'm only twenty you know. I'm strong enough for my age"

"I'll take your word for it" he says

"Give me a few minutes" he says, taking the gun

"We have a timeline you know" he says, leaning up against the wood

"You can give a few minutes" he says, beginning to shoot down the targets. He shoots one and reloads fast, his eyes never leaving the targets. He hits everyone and takes his prize

"Not bad" Booker says as they walk away

"Told you I was good at it"

He looks over at the man on stage, under a sign that said 'HANDYMAN' as others took pictures

"Wouldn't you hate to be in one of those"

"If you had to choose, old age or staying in that, what would you choose?" Booker asks

"I'll stick to an older body, not a metal one"

A lady sees them and waves them over "Hey! You two gentlemen there! Come here!"

They go over to her and she smiles at them "It's time to take back control from the men of metal. With Possession, YOU are the master!"

"It's worth a shot, and free" Charles shrugs, taking one

Both drink it and suddenly the lady blows a kiss and is enveloped in a bright green light. As soon as it started, it ends and both shake their heads

"What the hell was that?" Booker says, confused

"I… have no clue" Charles says, not sure himself

With possession, they open the gate and come across a man and woman

"Heads?" the man asks

"Or tails?" the woman finishes

"Come on, just let us through" Charles sighs

The man tosses Booker a silver eagle

"Heads?"

"Or Tails?" they ask again

Booker sighs and flips it "Tails"

They look and she puts a mark of the heads side, walking to the side and letting them pass through

"They sound familiar…" Booker says

"I think people like that would be easy to remember"


	4. Columbia's Secret

They continued walking, getting closer to the tower, when Booker stopped, looking at a sign. Charles looks too and sees a large, demonic looking right hand with the letters AD on it. The sign said "YOU SHALL KNOW THE FALSE SHEPERD BY HIS MARK" Booker looks at him own right hand and Charles sees the letters branded there

"Should I be at all concerned?" Charles asks him

"I don't get this, first someone knows I'm here and with you, now they know I have a brand of the same thing on my hand, what the hell is going on here?"

"I don't know, and I'm hoping to not find out…"

They walk away from the sign and hear singing nearby. They follow it, walking by two cops holding a big hook. They get to a large area with a stage where a man is waving his hands to get the people to sing. It seemed to…innocent to him, Charles began to wish he had his gun again

"And now, the1912 Raffle has officially begun! I Jeremiah Fink shall once again see over our glorious celebration!"

"Mister!" a girl calls to them

They both walk over to her

"Sorry, no sale"

"Silly, there's never a charge for the raffle. You been living under a rock?"

"Something like that" Charles says to himself

Both of them take a baseball and Charles looks at his, #77

"77…"

"That's a lucky number, I'll be rooting for you" the girl says, winking at him as she walks away

"Think it's to late to throw it away?"

"She saw you with it, I'd say so"

"Bring me the bowl!" Fink yells "Is that not the prettiest young white girl in all of Columbia!?"

Charles looks at Booker, both look a bit confused but look back as Fink picks out a number

"And the winner is… number 77!"

"Well how about that" Booker says

"Him! He's the winner! The Blonde man!" the girl cheers, pointing at him

"Number 77, come and claim your prize! The first throw!"

The curtain opens and the crowd begins to sing a wedding march. Charles grips the ball in his hand but stops when he sees what it is. A white man and a black woman were forced forward, tied to poles as they struggled and begged for them to stop. Charles suddenly got a rush of cold inside him and he took a step back. Booker seemed equally shocked as Fink looks at them

"Come on, you gonna do it? Or are you taking you coffee black these days?" he starts laughing

Then, the cold he felt was gone, replaced now with anger. Charles gripped the ball in his hand and looked at Fink

"Ah, looks like we have a shy one here" Fink says

"I'll show you shy you son of a bitch!" Charles pulls back his arm to throw it at him but a cop grabs him arm. Another grabs Booker and looks at his right hand

"Well look what we have here!" he shows Fink

"Where'd you get that brand? Don't you know that makes you the backstabbing, snake in the grass false shepherd?" he looks at Charles "And this must be his follower, you like trashy black people boy?"

Charles spits in his face "You're the one who's trash" he growls at him

Fink wipes the spit off his face "Show them what we have planned boys!"

A Sky hook comes out and starts towards Booker's face. They glance at each other and Charles bites down hard on the man's arm. He ducks down and elbows him in the groin, allowing Booker to force his face into the sky hook. He smacks the other cop in the head with it and grabs another sky hook, tossing it to Charles

"So much for not drawing attention to ourselves"

"Fuck that, I won't stand by with that happening"

Booker nods to him "Neither would I, looks like we're fighting our way to that tower"

"Then lead the way, also I need a gun"

Booker and Charles had taken guns from the dead cops and moved on. The quickest way to Monument Island had been blocked so they had to find another way around.

"Sorry about that back there, I guess I can have a temper at the worst of times"

"It's fine, I would've done the same. At least we know what's wrong about this place"

"Agreed, fucking racists" he sighs "Hate those people"

Cops fire at them again and they duck for cover, firing back and them. Then, a man covered in fire jumps out and they begin shooting back

"Get him in the head!" Booker shouts to Charles, who nods and gets a headshot. He drops another vigor and Booker picks it up

"Devil's Kiss, hm"

"Guess a man CAN shoot fire from his hands"

Both drink it and suddenly feel like their hands are burning up. Like before, it vanishes soon after it begins. They fight through many more cops before reaching The Blue Ribbon Restaurant. They go in and catch their breath

"We need to get there soon, or they could move the girl" Charles says

"We need a faster way then just running through, killing cops"

"If only we had an airship or something"

"If we did, none of this would even happen. Let's move on" he says, walking in. Then both see the man and woman from before, the woman holding a tray with something on it

"Them again…?" Booker says, shocked

"Why are you following us?" Charles asks, gripping his gun

"We were already here" the woman says

"Why are YOU following US?" the man asks

"You can't be serious" Charles says, shaking his head

"Aperitif?" the woman asks

"What is that?"

"Well you won't know unless you try it"

"It could be poison" Booker says

"And it couldn't" the man says

Booker takes it and drinks it, Charles doing the same. Then, a shock comes over them both

"What the?"

"Surprising" the woman says

"Surprising that it worked?" the man asks

"Surprising that it didn't kill them"

"But a magnetic repulsive field around ones body does come in handy"

"If it doesn't kill you"

"A fair point"

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Charles asks

"I believe you have a job to do, best to hop to it" the man says

Knowing they wouldn't get far with them, they just press on

After a strike with the sky hook from the air, Charles wiped the blood off his face. They move on then come to a set of doors, surrounded by a mist.

"Do we WANT to head in the creepy doors? Cause I'm having doubts"

"You know another way to Monument Island?" Booker ask, cracking open the doors

Charles just follows him in and shuts the doors


	5. Reaching Monument Island

The first thing he noticed was how cold it was. He got a chill as they walked in further. They get to a large statue and stop

"Holy shit…" Charles says

It was a large statue of John Wilkes Booth, with his gun drawn. This continued to creep Charles out and he gripped his gun

"Just when this place couldn't get any creepier…" Booker says

"Tell me about it"

Then, a man walks around the corner and sees them, opening his mouth to yell. Charles turns and shoots him in the head, but the others rush out and begin to fire at them. Booker runs and smashes a man's face in with the sky hook and Charles shoots the others. Both of them clear the room fast and move on before any others could arrive.

They walked through a set of doors upstairs and saw a group of hooded men down below. Booker shot the leader and the others ran up at them, they both shot back at each other until all the hooded men were dead. They walked through doors and it lead to a large garden area, full of mist, and suddenly then a man surrounded by crows attacked them. Booker laid a devil's kiss trap and when the man was burning, Charles shot him multiple times in the chest. As he drops, a vigor rolls out of him and Booker picks it up

"A new vigor?" and he drinks it, tossing it to Charles who also takes a drink. Suddenly, a crow appears, but his beak is covered in blood and he's holding flesh in it. Charles looks at Booker "Ok that was weird"

"Weirder then hands being set on fire?"

"No but pretty close"

They run out the doors at the end and look for the tower, seeing it in the distance

"Almost there" Charles says

They both grab the sky hooks and make their way closer, having to kill some more guards and a machine as they go.

"Looks like the only way we'll get there is using those" Booker says, gesturing to the sky lines

"Great, I enjoy the possibility of falling to my death" Charles says, sarcastically

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights"

"Only when I'm over fifteen thousand feet in the air, I'd like to see you not get nervous while up there"

"You have seen it"

"Tell me that when you're about to fall"

They latch onto the sky lines and ride them up. After having to clear them to move on, they get to an area and see a group waiting, guns pointed. As they're about to shoot back, a booming voice says "STAND DOWN" and the men fall to their knees, praying.

"What?" Charles asks as they drop, the men not even acknowledging them as they walk in. They make it to a little lift and Booker pulls the lever. Then, the face of a bearded man comes up in front of them.

"I know why you've come False Shepard" he says, the boom of the microphone he had to be using making the ending of his words sound…demonic "I see every sin that blackens your soul. Wounded Knee, the Pinkertons, the drinking, the gambling, and of course…Anna"

"You don't know me pal!" Booker yells back

"I have seen your future too Charles" the man says "A hard, merciless murderer who'll do it all for a mere paycheck"

"Like you know me either!" he yells back "I'm not like these people, I'm not going to listen to your mindless preaching's Comstock!"

"To repay a debt and to get a paycheck, you're both come for my lamb, but not all debts can be repaid Booker. Prophecy is my business, as blood is both of yours. You know why these men will die for me?"

"Because you put a bunch of nonsense into their heads!" Charles snaps at him

"No, because I've seen their future and glory, and hence they are content. Why did you come to Columbia Booker? Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt? This will end in blood Dewitt, but then again, it always does with you doesn't it? It always ends in blood"

Charles hears Booker grunt and looks at him, his nose started to bleed

"Booker, your nose..!"

He wipes it with his fingers "I'm fine"

"You s-"

"Charles, I'm fine" he assures

They look and the zeppelin carrying Comstock starts moving away

"You've come to lead my lamb astray but thy crook is bent and thy path is twisted! Go back to the sodum of which you came!"

They go off the lift and to the left. Then, the side of the building explodes, both cover their heads from the wood and glass

"GO BACK!" Comstock's voice booms

Booker looks through the hole in the wall and sees the zeppelin there

"Charles, remember what you said about an airship? Hope this will do"

Charles looks out and smirks "it'll do"

Both jump over to it and fire back at the two who run out. As soon as they're taken care of, they walk into it

"We have to find the controls to this thing" Booker says

"You know how to fly a zeppelin?"

"How hard can it be? Surprised your agency never taught you"

"Call me crazy but I don't think 'how to fly a zeppelin' would be key knowledge to know off the top of my head"

They open the door to the controls and see a woman in there, preying to a picture of Comstock

"It's ok, we aren't going to hurt you" Charles says, kindly but she doesn't budge

Booker goes over to the controls and Charles looks at them

"Ok, you sure you can get this working?"

Before Booker can answer, a horn goes off and both look up to see Comstock on a small transporter, his microphone in hand as he looks at them

"The lord forgives everything, but I'm just the prophet…so I don't have to. Amen" it flies away

"Amen" they hear behind them and turn to see the woman set herself on fire

"SHIT!" Charles yells as the zeppelin begins to burn. Both run out and see the bottom had opened

"JUMP!" Booker says and both jump out. They fall through the air before latching onto a sky line and riding to safety. Charles feels his heart begin to race as the zeppelin explodes behind them. His blood begins to pump faster, feeling the adrenaline race. They land at Monument Island and take a moment to catch their breath

"Holy hell…" Charles breathes out before laughing, "That was intense"

"Something wrong with you?" Booker asks him

"No, you know you feel your blood pumping too. Not everyday you jump out of a burning zeppelin and fall through the air"

"That's for sure" he sees doors leading inside "Come on, we're almost done with this place"


	6. Meeting Elizabeth

Getting into Monument Island wasn't to hard, just use the sky hook and hop over the fence. It was unnervingly quiet, not even any birds were around. They walked in and it looked like the lab had been cleared out fast.

"Must have heard us coming" Charles says

"Maybe"

Booker opens a door and they walk through, hearing nothing but sparks.

"I feel like I should be thankful for a quiet place without people shooting at us, but I'd probably prefer that to the creepy silence…"

Booker nods "Same here. Wonder why they have her locked up in this place"

"I'd say for symbolic reasons but I don't think that's it"

They walk through the doors and see a board with different ages on it, from ages one to seventeen

"What's this…?" Booker asks

"Something disturbing I'm sure" Charles says, peeking around the corner and nodding that it was still clear

They walk into a room with electricity crackling all around, leaving light blue streaks. In the middle of the room is a large device with the words 'SIPHON PASSIVE' lit up on the top. There were three different levers and Charles pulls the first. It lights up to show a teddy bear, turning from brown to red.

"What the hell?"

Booker pulls the next and a poetry book lights up, turning from green to red. He pulls the final one and a Menarche lights up, turning from spotless to covered in red. Charles puts a hand over his mouth and turns away

"Ok, these people are insane, religious nutjobs that will follow a madman to the death… but that is just sick"

Booker had turned his eyes away too "Tell me about it, I'm sure anything would be better then being stuck here"

"That's an understatement" he says, moving out of sight of it then blowing some hair out of his face

Booker passes a table and picks up a box of cigarettes

"Want one?"

"Don't smoke, I'd rather live longer"

"I smoke and I'm just fine" he says, tossing them away

"Well, you have that dark past Comstock mentioned"

"Just forget that happened" he says, pushing past him and opening the door

Charles sighs and follows, not pushing it any further. They reach a room with four passageways and check them out. Charles enters one as Booker looks in the one across from it and he walks in to an experimentation room. He sees a chair that resembles the one used to reach Columbia and medical tools on a table by it

"BOOKER! I THINK YOU NEED TO SEE THIS" he yells out to him

Booker walks in and sees the chair "What the hell have they been doing to her…?"

"I don't feel like I want to know… find anything else?"

"Something you should see too"

He leads him to a red filled room used to develop pictures. They were all of a girl, dressing unaware of the camera.

"What the fuck is wrong with these people…?" Charles says, shocked "This is all just…disgusting. I have a sister Booker, and this makes me imagine if…someone did this to her…"

"There is something wrong with this whole goddamn city, don't let it get to you"

"Let's just find the girl and get the fuck out of here…" he says, leaving the room

They get to a large room with more electricity in the air. There was also large objects that looked like they were pumping power. They walk to the other side of the room and get into the elevator.

"This whole job had better be worth it" Charles sighs, leaning against the wall

"Regretting agreeing to come here?" Booker asks after pressing the button

"As me that when everything goes to hell"

The doors open to a window covered by steel and with another lever. Booker pulls it as Charles puts his gun away. It opens to an empty corner of a room, they turn and go down the hallway and see a device reading 'Specimen Tracker', which Charles presses. It lights up that she was in the dressing room

"Dressing room, that's where we need to go" Booker says to Charles, who walks through the door

"And if she's changing?"

"Just close your eyes"

They walk on a wooden walkway and get to another door, sliding it open. They enter in and see the same thing they say when they walked in. Charles pushes the camera set up to the corner and Booker pulls the lever. The doors open up and reveal the girl they were there to find. Charles couldn't deny she was very pretty. Her hair was dark brown and tied back with a ribbon and her eyes were a nice shade of blue. She wore a white, long sleeved shirt and a long blue skirt. She held a picture of the Eiffel Tower and looked at it longingly. She faces what she must think is a mirror and moves aside some of her hair, getting a paper cut from the page she held in her other hand. She drops the picture and looks at her hand, she shakes it off and grabs the picture again. She smiles widely and runs out, the doors cutting off the view after that.

"That's her" Booker says

"She's pretty"

"Yea, seems about your age Charles"

"Maybe give or take a few years but yes"

They use the Specimen tracker, showing she was in the dining room, they run there fast and pull yet another lever. She walks in front of a painting of the Eiffel Tower, and tosses the picture of a table.

"What is she doing…?"

She faces the picture and brings her hands together, she appears to struggle to force them apart. Both men watch as she forces them apart and a giant hole appears. The glass cracks as a scene appears before them, it was something neither had ever seen before. It was full of bright lights and music they never heard, in an unknown style. Then, a large sound appears and two bright lights move towards her but she shuts the hole, stepping away.

Charles' eyes were so large he felt like they were going to fall out of his skull. He'd backed up a bit, his eyes glued on the strange sight. He heard Booker's shocked, ragged breathing as the girl runs away and the windows close

"Whatever that was… it has nothing to do with the job at hand…" Booker says

Charles looks at him like he's insane "'Nothing to do'? Booker, this girl just opened a damn hole to god knows where! This isn't something we can glance over!"

"We have to bring her to New York, that's it" he says, walking down the hallway and using the tracker to find her in the Library

"And it didn't just cross your mind that THIS is probably why they want her?"

"I never said it didn't"

"But?"

"I need to repay the debt, and you have to get that money for your family… you know this"

Charles looks at his boots but just sighs, looking up again and following Booker to a door. He opens it and wind rushes in, Charles climbs out first and Booker follows

"Feel your blood pumping?" Booker asks him, in a joking tone

"Very funny" he says, sarcastically

They walk up as the wind whips around them, holding onto the chain in case. They finally make it to the other door and rush in. Charles wipes the hair out of his face

"If I had a fear of heights, this job would help fight that" he sighs

Booker opens the door "Then it's a good thing you don't"

"Although I still have a fear of falling and going splat"

Booker chuckles and they see the next door in front of them. They walk towards it but then something groans, a chain snaps and the bottom falls out. The two fall but grab a ledge just in time, they begin to lift themselves up but see her staring at them.

"Um…hi" Charles says, causing her to scream and make him fall, Booker landing next to him

She starts down the stairs, throwing books at them, one hitting Charles in the head

"Hey! Hey! We're friendly, stop it with the books!"

She picks up another and gets ready to strike

"Who are you?" she asks

Both stand "My name is Dewitt, this is O'Reilly, we're friends"

"So please, no more books" Charles says, rubbing the spot on his head

She moves to hit Booker but she stops her hands, allowing her to take deep breaths

"Are…are you real…?" she asks them, reaching out and touching Charles' cheek

"Real enough…" he says, fighting back a slight blush as she peers into his face, like she's looking for something

Then, a statue of Comstock begins to make music, its eyes lighting up.

"What is-"

"Oh no, you both have to leave!"

"What, why?" Booker asks

"You don't want to be here when he gets back! JUST A MINUTE, I'M GETTING DRESSED!" she shouts up

"He?" Charles asks, confused

"We can get you out of here"

"There's no way out, trust me I've looked"

Booker takes out a key "What about this? Isn't this a way out?"

She looks at it and takes it, looking it over and running to the bolted door

"You know, it helps to tell your partner about these things" Charles says

"I was when it became important, which it did"

She puts it in the door and it opens "It's a way out!" she says, rushing out

"Wait Elizabeth!" Booker says

"Ah so that's her name, helps to tell your partner these things too" Charles says, slipping through the door


	7. To the Airship

All of them run out as the alarms go off, the run down the stairs as things begin to fall down and crash

"It's his job to keep me locked up in here!"

"We'll see about that!"

"What the hell is this thing! It's going to destroy everything!" Charles yells as they run to the elevator

"Let's focus on getting out first!"

"Who are you?" Elizabeth yells "Why did you come here!"

"Just keep running!" Charles yells, as steel bars and wood begin to fall

It shakes again and Booker falls, seeing three large claw marks appear of the wall. Charles stops to make sure he's ok, but looks up and jumps out of the way of a falling beam, as the place shakes and he falls down. He jumps back up and he and Booker catch up to Elizabeth

"PRESS THE BUTTON!" Booker yells to her

They get there and catch their breath

"Th…they were watching me? All this time..?" she says, looking at the window to the room "Why?! What am i? What am i?!"

"You're the girl who's getting out of this tower!" Booker says

Then, a large force crashes in, all Charles could see was a large beak and a big, mechanical red eye. The eye zeroed in on him and Booker and tried to get in, Charles stepped in front of Elizabeth as she yelled. It was too big though and the elevator crashed on its head and made it fall out of sight, allowing them to breathe

"We're not going that way…" Booker says

Charles looks through the hole it made and sees a fallen beam leading to the stairs

"Yes we are" he says, jumping onto the beam

They follow his lead and run up the stairs quickly

"Be careful Elizabeth!" Booker shouts

"How do you know my name?"

"Not now!" Charles yells

Elizabeth gets to the door and tries to pull it open. Booker runs to it and open it instead, letting Elizabeth and Charles walk out first and following

"Which way?" Elizabeth asks

"Up!" Booker says

They get to the top but then it shakes again and they're flying through the air. Elizabeth screams and reaches to them

"ELIZABETH! GRAB ON!" Charles says, reaching out his arm

She grabs it and he grips Booker's right wrist, his other hand bringing out the skyhook and latching onto the skyline. Charles tightens his grip on both arms as things start crashing around them. A dark shape flies behind the clouds, following them. They see the tower crack in half and look farther down the skyline. An object smashes it and Charles feels his heart drop

"THE SKYLINE!"

Booker looks for another way to jump off but they run out of time, falling off and through the air. Charles feels his grip on Elizabeth loosen and she flies out of his reach. His grip on Booker loosens too and suddenly he's surrounded by water. Then, a large, mechanical bird face appears in front of his. It looks at him but buckles from the water, its eye starting to crack and it flies out. Charles feels himself begin to slip away and it goes to black.

He wakes in a familiar place, home. He sits up but then sees a little him, smiling and laughing. He looks around the small dark place and wonders how he ever kept a positive attitude through childhood. Then, he hears a knock on the door and his mother opens it, it's a man from his father's work. He talks to her but he only hears one sentence "I'm sorry, but your husband is dead…" His whole world had been rocked by that sentence, and he felt the tears form in his eyes. He looked and saw that the little him had the same face

"No…no no NO!" little him yells "He's still here! You're lying! Father….he's…." he runs away without finishing, his older brother running to him

"Father… I miss you…." He says, as the vision cuts out

He wakes to someone pumping on his chest. He opens his eyes and sees Elizabeth smiling at him

"Welcome back Sleeping Beauty"

"You didn't kiss me did you? We just met" he says, sitting up

She starts pumping on Booker's chest "You're not that handsome"

"Thanks for that"

"You called out to your father while you were asleep… do you miss him?"

"In more ways then one…"

"I'm sure you'll see him again"

"Not likely…he's dead…"

"Oh… I'm so sorry Mr. O'Reilly"

"Call me Charles, I'm not a formal person"

Booker coughs up water "Welcome back to the land of the living…" Charles says, brushing sand out of his hair and looking around the beach they were now on.

Elizabeth starts to help him up

"I'm fine…"

"You almost drowned"

He grabs his arm back "I said, I'm fine. Just give me a minute"  
She shots a silly look at Charles and he smiles. Then she perks up more

"You hear that? It's music"

"Go on, I'll meet up with you" Booker says, rubbing his face

"Oh…ok, I won't be long Mr. Dewitt!" she says, standing "you want to come with me?" she asks Charles

"And leave him dying on the beach?"

"Oh he's fine, and so are you! Come on" she says

Charles smiles and stands "Ok, but I'm not dancing"

She grabs his hand and drags him to where it was "So how old are you?"

"Twenty"

"Nice, a year older then me"

She gets there and smiles "I've always loved dancing" she says, beginning to twirl around

Charles sits up on a post "You remind me of my sister"

"You have a sister?" she smiles

"Yea, two big brothers and a little sister, she's still with my mother"

"Where are you from?"

"New York, in an area that isn't as nice as you think"

She twirls more "Well I won't know unless I see it"

"Maybe you will someday"

She moves to the center of the people dancing and Charles laughs, seeing her so carefree. Booker comes over to them

"Miss! Miss! Elizabeth!"

"Oh Hello! Isn't this great?! Come dance with me Mister Dewitt!" she says, smiling

"I don't dance, come on let's go"

"Why? What can be better then this?"

Booker looks up at the First Lady Airship

"How about Paris?"

"Paris?! How would we get there?"

"It's where that airship is goin' but if you want to stay and dance-"

"No! Let's go! Come on let's go right now!" she says, running to the end of the walkway

"Booker" Charles says, stopping him "Is this really a good idea?"

"It's all we have"  
Charles says nothing and walks after Elizabeth

"Did you know the artificial beach was built in six months?" Elizabeth asks

"How do you know?" Booker asks

"From the book that hit Charles in the head" she says as Charles rubs the spot

"Thick Book" he comments

She looks at a picture of Comstock "My books said he could see the future, I wonder if its true"

"Give a man power and he falls in all kinds of love with himself" Charles says

"I don't like his look…"

"That makes three of us" Booker says, walking up the stairs that lead to the airship

They get to the boardwalk leading to it when they run into the twins again

"Bird?" the man asks

"Or the cage?" the woman finishes

"These two again? How do- never mind" Booker sighs

Charles taps Elizabeth's shoulder "We should move on"

"Look at these they're beautiful! Which do you like more?" she asks, showing them to him

He looks at them both and points to the bird "That one's nice"

She puts them both back and picks that one up, putting it on.

"Hm, I expected the cage" the woman says, as they walk away. When Charles looks in that direction, they're suddenly gone.

A group of people look up at the destroyed tower in horror

"I think we have to be incredibly lucky…" Charles says so only they can hear

"Yea…let's move on" Booker says, the three walking off fast.

They make it inside and see cops searching people who wanted to get in

"We're not making it through that…" Booker mutters to Charles

"Let's find a different way"

They sneak to the hallway and a drunk yells out "Hey copper! These two look suspicious if you ask me!" he kicks Charles leg

He grits his teeth together in anger as he smashes the man's booze bottle under his foot "Well no one asked you…" he says, walking away and trying the door "Locked…"

Elizabeth goes over and starts picking the lock

"What're you doing?!" Booker whispers to her as Charles stands in front of her back, blocking her from view

"You're a roguish type, what does it look like?" she finishes it and the doors swing open

"Alright, when did YOU learn to pick locks?" Charles asks her as they walk in

"Stuck in a tower with nothing but books and spare time, you'd be surprised what I can do"

"Well, color me impressed"


	8. Find the Shock Jockey

They walk up the stairs and Elizabeth flicks a silver eagle to Booker

"Maybe you should patch yourself up" she says

He pockets it "I'm fine, really"

"Hey" they hear someone whisper "Hey misters, we'd like to help you"

They look down the hallway and see the interracial couple from the raffle

"Do I know you?" Booker asks

"The raffle" Charles says

"Yes, without you both we wouldn't have gotten away" the man says, holding her close to him

"It was the right thing to do" Charles says "All that was…uncalled for"

The woman smiles at him "Daisy always said someone like you two would come along"

"Daisy?"

"The leader of the Vox, a real hero"

Charles just nods and turns his head. Suddenly his face turns blank as he looks at a bathroom door that read 'Colored and Irish washroom'. He can't stop himself from opening the door and seeing the filth inside it

"All of this… so wrong" he says to himself

"I…take it your Irish, well, this and your last name"

He nods "How can these people think they're doing right by all this!?"

"They're just fucked up people, don't let this get to you.." Booker says

He grips his arm before dropping it "Let's just go" he says, not in the mood to say much else

The next door they open is suddenly full of bright lights. There are many 'Duke or Dimwit' machines all around and little kids playing them. Charles, having never been a fan of puppets or dolls, decided to pass on them and looked at a large robot with the face of George Washington.

"I'd say the face is the weirdest part, but I'm sure those flags are supposed to be wings" he says to Booker

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were"

"Maybe I just don't like those things" he says, walking up the stairs

"Could be"

They walk up to the stairs to a spinning door, where a woman was standing and she turned and looked at Elizabeth

"Annabelle? It's me Ester" she says

"Oh I'm not Annabelle, my name's Elizabeth. Do I know you?"

"Elizabeth, isn't that a lovely name" she says, almost dreamily, and walks in

"That was…odd" she says

"Sure was" Charles says, walking in after her

They make their way to the ticket station, Elizabeth looks around as Booker rings the bell, Charles leaning against the wall to his right.

"I need three tickets to the First Lady Airship"

The man had his back to them, talking on the phone "Yeah just a minute friend" he says, going back to his call "Yea I have it, how do you want to proceed"

"I don't like this…" Charles says, standing straight

Booker rings the bell again "In a bit of a rush pal"

The man turns to him "Certainly sir, sorry for THE WAIT!" he yells, jamming a knife into Booker's hand. He moves to stab him but Charles whips out his gun and shoots the man in the heart. He hears Elizabeth struggle and sees a man holding her arm, pulling her to the woman from before. He shoots the man in the head as Booker yanks the knife out and takes out his own gun. Elizabeth sees the two men with their guns drawn and yells, backing away from them as more men run in. A man runs at Charles and he pulls out his sky hook, having it grab the man's head and crush it like an egg. A little blood splatters on his face as the body drops, Elizabeth yanks the door open and runs out

"Stay away from me!" she yells

More men begin to attack and both need to fight back

"Why can't we go one damn place without being shot at?!" Charles asks, firing back at them

"Just our luck!" Booker replies

Charles uses Devil's Kiss to fry the rest and both run after Elizabeth

"ELIZABETH!" he yells after her

"Both of you, just stay away!" she yells, running into the transport to the airship

Both run in after her and see her trying to pull the lever. She sees them and backs away, allowing Booker to pull the lever instead

"You killed those people…I can't believe you…they're all dead" she says, turning to them "You killed those people!"

"Elizabeth, we-" Charles starts

She shoves him back "You're a monster! You both are…!"

He looks away from her, Booker steps forward

"What did you think was going to happen? Hm?"

"What?"

"Do you understand the expense people went through to keep you locked up in that tower? You think people like that are going to just let you walk away? You will not be safe until you are far away from here"

She slowly turns around and looks at him "What do they want from me?"

"We don't know, but no one is getting the drop on me again…"

Charles remembers the stab wound "Booker, you should get that hand treated…" he says, obviously worried for him

Elizabeth takes his hand and begins to wrap it. Charles takes this time to look at his reflection to wipe the blood off. He stops and begins to wonder, is this what his parents ever dreamed his job would be? To kill others for money? He'd killed almost a groupful of cops and they day was only just beginning to end. He looks at his reflection in the glass. A twenty year old with blond hair and a pale face marked with red. His blue – grey eyes looked wild, stern, ready for the next attack on his life. He wiped the blood off with his sleeve and sighed

"Charles, you alright?" Booker asks, his hand wrapped up

"I'm fine" he says, turning away

"That's not the last of them is it?" Elizabeth asks

"I don't know" Booker says, flexing his hand

"I seriously hope not…" Charles says

The transport spots and they get off

"I suppose I should get used to it, you know I know a thing or two about medicine. I'll do my best to supply you with remedies, and if your wounds are deeper…I'll try to keep you on this side of the abyss"

"Thanks" Booker says

"Also…sorry about what I said…"

"Let's just forget about that" Charles suggests

They walk into Soldier's Field and see the large eagle

"Second largest mechanical bird I've seen today" Charles sighs

"Charles, give me a hand here" Booker says, his hands ready to lift up the grate blocking the door

"Thought you said I had no muscle" he says, following his lead

"I said not much"

They lift it up and allow Elizabeth to walk in before ducking in

"Shock Jockey" she says, looking at the poster for it

"A new vigor I assume. Free electricity, they must LOVE this one" he comments, sarcastically

She looks and sees the boardwalk and smiles "This is amazing"

"It's pretty nice"

"What if someone catches up snooping around, acting suspicious?"

"We say we're just looking for the bathroom" Booker says

"And that works?"

"Not usually, no" Charles says

They walked out and saw a large sign with their location, Soldier's Field. Then, a rumbling made the ground shake as the airship flew overhead.

"There it is, the first lady" Booker says

"Looks like it's heading for the docks"

"Can't be hard to find. Elizabeth, stay close"

"Yes Mr. Dewitt" she says

"Call me Booker"

"O…ok, Booker"

"Come on, you call Charles by his first name"

"Only cause I look so much better then you" Charles jokes, making Elizabeth laugh

They begin to look around the boardwalk, looking for the docks

"So why did your employers want you to get me?" Elizabeth asks

"I'd imagine they were interested in meeting you" Booker says

"And I was given the job via the request of the man who came with the job"

"Why you?"

"I don't know, seeing you makes me think maybe it's because I'm closer in age to you then Booker is"

"Suppose that makes sense, neither of us even heard about this place before we got here"

"I would go so far to say I was quite surprised"

"I assumed Columbia was common knowledge below" Elizabeth says, picking up a silver eagle

"I suppose we got behind in current events"

"So what are you then?"  
"I'm a… independent contractor. Used to work for the Pinkerton's and such"

"Pinkerton's… I feel like I should remember that name" Charles says, rubbing the back of his neck as he thinks

"It's not something you'd want gracing your resume"

"Weren't they the ones you'd call to settle things when the workers took to striking"

"That's right!" Charles says "I overheard my father telling my mother about the Pinkerton people stopping a strike at a factory"

"That sounds right" Booker sighs as they end up at a merry go round. Charles stands on it as it spins around, holding onto one of the poles.

"I always wanted to go on one of these, but after father died I couldn't be a real kid anymore"

"I'm sorry about that Charles…" Booker says, actually sounding really sorry for him as he leans his back against the center of the merry go round "Nowadays we're all going to lose someone we care about"

"So let's talk about YOU for the first time on this mission" Charles says, changing the subject quickly "Is there a woman in your life?"

"There was…she died"

Both Charles and Elizabeth say nothing, then look at each other before Charles turns back to him "I'm sorry…" he says quietly

"How…?" Elizabeth asks

"Giving Birth"  
"You have a child?"

"No…" he says, getting off

Charles jumps off after him, Elizabeth opens her mouth to say something to Booker but he gently squeezes her hand before letting go, as if telling her not to.

They get to the lift to the port and see a large device with a lever in front of it. Booker pulls it but then it sparks and the lights go out.

"Just our luck…" Charles sighs, giving the machine a light kick

"Looks like this runs exclusively on Shock Jockey" Elizabeth says

"And where in the hell are we going to find that?"

"The sign here says at the Hall of Heroes"

"Well that's convenient"


End file.
